What Makes BlackBerry Android Secure?

The words Android and security don’t often go well together. Cheap, insecure OEM devices and delayed updates crop up in articles with alarming regularity. BlackBerry Android phones want to change this perception.

BlackBerry is a brand built on consumer expectations of security. Even if the average user doesn’t understand the specifics, the BlackBerry badge delivers a sense of safety.

Since BlackBerry’s heyday not much has changed in this sense. Yet the market has moved to iOS and Android devices. BB oS10 handsets like the Passport and Classic were praised for their security credentials. They just didn’t capture the imagination of the wider buying public.

BlackBerry Android phones are an altogether different breed. They modify the user-friendly open source Android OS in a number of ways to suit their ongoing commitment to security.

Does that seem like a lot of steps? Well it is. But every one is important when committing to a truly secure platform.

Hardware

An announcement for the BlackBerry Mercury is due at MWC on February 25th

Blackberry like to refer to their Hardware Root of Trust.

During manufacturing, a security key is added to the processor on every BlackBerry Android. These track, verify, and provision each handset. This authenticates the integrity of the phone – and its data – right at the motherboard level.

Bootloader

All consumer phones ship with a locked bootloader to avoid unverified software installation. It is often possible to unlock this at the expense of your warranty.

The bootloader on a BlackBerry Android is different though. It has full encryption and will only ever allow an untampered, BlackBerry-signed OS to load.

Each stage of the boot chain must verify the next component is fully intact before proceeding.

Kernel

The Linux kernel is the core of Android. This was developed in the early 90’s and has been modified hundreds of times for various distributions and applications.

BlackBerry have introduced numerous patches and configuration changes to the Android implementation to reduce the attack surface.

OS Runtime

This is also known as BlackBerry Integrity Detection (BID). It is a key component of the DTEK security app that you see running on the phone.

BlackBerry continuously monitor all of their Android phones. BID is checking for events or configuration changes which may indicate a compromise to security. If any occur, BID will trigger real-time countermeasures.

Disk Encryption

It’s par for the course these days to encrypt all user data saved to disk. Just to take it up to 11, BlackBerry ensure the encryption is at U.S. government-suitable levels.

Software Updates

Research

Not always in people’s minds is looking at the future. It’s easy to respond to threats you are told about but BlackBerry go further. BlackBerry also employ security experts to try and break, hack or exploit their phones.

Their results, along with the findings of others are part of a constant cycle of improvement.

Josh

Josh joined Clove part time a few years ago whilst studying Computing at Bournemouth University. Since finishing his studies he has remained at Clove in a full time position, involved in sales, returns and social media.
Involved with both consumer electronics and software since the mid 2000s, keeping up to date with industry developments is as much a hobby as it is a job.
Easy going but never afraid to share an opinion, Josh can often be found in his spare time listening to some heavy rock or at a local gig as well as playing with the latest gadgets and video games.